Latch



April 4, 1939. w F EAsE 2,153,206

LATCH Filed July 15, 1936 Z0 I I 1939 20673??? Wendei 1 6.4256 L3? (QMPatented Apr. 4, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LATCH Wendell Pease,Chicago, Ill.

Application July 15,-1936, Serial No. 90,623

6 Claims. (Cl. 292-337) This invention relates generally to latches, andpertains more particularly to an improved form of latch for securingautomobile windows against being opened from the outside.

In various types of automobile body windows, particularly those of thetype popularly known as no-draft or individual ventilating windows, aglass pane is mounted in a metallic stile which is adapted to be swungor rotated on vertical pivots and the car body is customarily equippedwith a suitable crank and gear arrangement for so operating the stileand pane. Most of such windows ordinarily may be forced open from theoutside to the extent adequate to permit the insertion of a wire or thinstrip of metal which may be engaged with the door latching device tooperate it to unlock the door.

One of the general purposes or objects of the present invention is theprovision of an improved form of securing latch which may be easilymounted on and aflixed to a window of the foregoing description andwhich will be efiective to prevent opening of such a window from theoutside, and thereby frustrate unauthorized access to the interior ofthe vehicle body in the manner above described.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a latch which may bemounted and supported securely on the stile of the window in suchfashion as to prevent its imparting injurious pressures to the windowpane.

Yet another object is the provision of such a latch which istamper-proof from the exterior of the vehicle body so as to precludeunauthorized operation of it.

Still another object is the provision of such a latch which is veryrugged and strong, but at the same time of small and unobstrusive sizeand design and of sightly appearance.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improvedconstruction for a latch which is adapted to be applied to the marginalportions of a door, window or the like, and which may be manufacturedeconomically. I

Other and further objects of the invention will be pointed out orindicated hereinafter or will be apparent to one skilled in the art fromthe following description and explanation.

For the purpose of aiding in an explanation of the invention, I show inthe accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, andherein after describe, one structural form in which the invention may beembodied. It is to be understood, however, that this is presented forpurpose of illustration merely, and is not to be construed in anyfashion calculated to limit the appended claims short of the true andmost comprehensive scope of the invention in the art.

In said drawing,

Fig. 1 is an inside elevational view of an auto- 5 mobile body window ofthe so-called no-draft or individual ventilating type, the same beingequipped with a latch in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view of a latch em- 10 bodying myinvention, illustrating the relationship of same to the bottom stile andpane of an automobile window such as illustrated in Fig. 1 when thelatch is applied thereto in position shown in Fig. 1; 15

Fig. 3 is an end elevational view of said latch showing the end oppositethat shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the same latch showing the sidewhich is presented toward the inside of the vehicle body;

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a blank from which the body portion of thelatch may be formed.

The nature of the invention will be most quickly ascertained from adetailed explanation of the embodiment shown in the drawing, which willnow be described.

In Fig. 1 is shown an inside view of a side door window construction foran automobile of the rigid-body roadster or sedan type. The referencecharacter A designates a portion of the door or side wall of the vehiclewhich is formed with the window opening. The reference character Bdesignates a window pane which may be either stationarily mounted ormounted for vertical sliding movement in the door or body, said panebeing guided at one vertical margin in a stationary guide C which may bea metallic channel. The reference character D designates the pane of theno-draft or individual ventilating portion of the window, said panebeing mountedin the stile E, which is in the form of a metal channel orthe like, which embraces its top, front and bottom margins. The stile Eand window pane D are mounted for rotary or swinging movement onvertical pivots which are indicated at F.

It will be understood that the latch illustrated 50 in the drawing isdesigned for use on a window at the right side of an automobile body,and that a similar latch may be provided for use on the left sidewindow, same corresponding in all particulars to the construction shownin the draw- 55 ing, with the exception that the parts are in reversedrelationship.

The latch comprises a body portion having side walls I and II arrangedin spaced, approximately parallel, relationship and joined by an endwall l2 and a bottom wall I4. The spacing of the side walls I0 and II isadequate to accommodate the introduction of the window pane Dtherebetween, and the lower portions Illa and Ila of the respective sidewalls are, spaced at a somewhat greater distance to accommodateintroduction of the window stile E therebetween and are formed withinwardly offset parts .10 and p. The inner side wall is provided with anoutwardly offset bolt housing I5, within which is slidably mounted astiff bolt I6 having a lat erally offset nose portion Mia. The bolthousing portion is slotted at I51) to accommodate the shaft of a headedthumb screw I! which is screwseated in the bolt l6. As seen in Fig. theinner side of the bolt is somewhat countersunk about thescrew hole, andthe end of the screw is peened-outwardly or upset to forrna projectingstop I'Ib which prevents removal of the screw from the bolt, yet permitsa certain extent of inward and outward movementof thescrew upon itsrotation in the appropriate direction.

Alatchof the foregoing description is applied to the window by insertingthe marginof the pane between the walls. Ill. and II and the end portionof the bottomstile betweenthe wall por tions Illa and Ila so that theoffset parts 1; and p overlie the inner marginsof the stile, and movingthe latch along the pane until the margin of the latter abuts the endwall I2, a suitable cementitious material I8 being disposed. within thelower portion of the body member, said cementitiousmaterial being of a,sort to ,set in rigid condition and firmly bond. the stile E to the wallportions Illa and I la and the bottom portion I4. When the latch is so,applied and the cementitious material set rigidly, the latch is securelyfastened to the stile and held rigidly against flexion or displacementlaterally relative to the stile and pane. When the no-draft window is inclosed position, the bolt I6 may be slid, by manual operation-of thescrew I1, to project the nose portion lBa beyond the end wall I2, sothat said nose portion will overlap the inner side of the adjacentvertical guide C. The screw I"! may be set up to secure the bolt in thisposition by clamping portions of the ofiset portion I5 between the headof the screw and the side of the bolt. With the latch thus set, the nodraft window is securely locked in closed position, and any swinging ofthe window, either by forcing from the outside or by operation of itsnormal operating mechanism, is definitely precluded. Bolt I5 may bemoved to the retracted, or unlatched, position by loosening, the screwI1 and sliding the bolt to the limit of the slot 'I5b, whereupon thebolt may be secured in the retracted position by'setting up the screwI'l.v In this position the nose Ilia of the bolt is clear of the guideC; and the no-d'raft window may be operated in the normal fashion.

The body portion of the above described latch may be formed from anintegral blank of sheet metal, such as stainless steel, in the formshown in Fig. 6. This blank is bent on the dotted lines 9 to give thewall portions III, II and I2 their respective positions, on the dottedlines h to form the part p and. offset the wall portion Ida, on thedotted lines 2 to shape the bottom wall M, on the dotted lines 70 toform the part 1) and offset the wall portion I la, and on the dottedlines m to offset the bolt housing portion l5 and form the marginalflange I 9. When these bends are made in the form illustrated in Figs. 2and 3, it will be seen that the bolt housing portion is brought intooverlapping relationship with the side wall portion I l, which side wallportion has at its upper margin an extension 20 which is flanged downacross and against the outer side of the flange I9, to secure theoverlapping parts fixedly and permanently together. The side wallportion II has at its lower margin a narrow flange 2! which is bentoutwardly along the dotted line 12 into engagement with the inwardlyoffset portion 11. The bolt I6 is then slid into place in the bolthousing 15, and the screw I! inserted and screwed down fully, wherebythe previously concave end of the screw is peened or upset outwardly asit is forced against the surface of the wall portion H, the portions IIand I5 being. held by a jig against separation. If desired, for purposeof additional strength, the overlapping portions may be spot-welded atthe point to. Y I

From the foregoing description it will be seen that my improvedconstruction. provides. a latch which is very compact and light, but atthe same time very strong, and that when attached to the stile asexplained above, theparts are held rigidly against transmitting anypressure to the pane. Furthermore, it will be observed that the. latchdoes not interfere with the normal operation of the door or window inany manner, yet holds the window securely locked. against opening toeven the slightest degreer Sometimes the operating mechanism in windowsof the character above referred to becomes worn to a degree such as toallow the window to swing more or less incident to the swaying of thevehicle or under wind pressure. My latch is effective to holdthe windowsecurely closed under such conditions. The fact that the. bolt may besecurely fastened ineither the latched or retracted position preventsany rattling of the bolt and also affords additional security againstunauthorized operation of the latch.

What I claim is: g

1. A latch adapted for mounting on a window having a stile, andcomprising a body member having spaced side walls connected by a bottomwall and having inwardly offset parts so as to embrace a portion of thestile, and a bolt movably mounted on one of the side walls and movablethereon to and from a position wherein one of its ends projects beyondthe end of said side wall.

2. A latch comprising a body member having side walls spaced to permitintroduction of the pane and stile of an automobile window between them,an end wall connecting said sidewalls and adapted to abut a margin ofthe window pane, anda bolt slidably mounted on one of the side walls andmovable to and from a position wherein one of its ends is projectedbeyond the end wall.

3. A latch comprising a body member having side walls spaced apart toreceive a window stile between them and having inwardly offset p'artsadapted to overlap the inner margin of the stile, a bottom wallconnecting said side walls at their bottoms and adapted to extend acrossthe bottom of the stile, and a bolt slidably mounted on one of the sidewalls and shiftable thereon to and from a position wherein one of itsends is projected beyond the end of said side wall.

4. A latch adapted for mounting on a window having a bottom stile, samecomprising a body memberhaving spaced side walls adapted to receive thestile between them, a bottom wall connecting said side walls and adaptedto extend across the bottom of the stile, an end wall adapted to abut amargin of the window, and a bolt slidably mounted on one of the sidewalls and shiftable to and from a position in which one of its ends isprojected beyond the end wall.

5. In a latch, a body member formed from an integral blank of sheetmetal shaped to form side Walls spaced in approximately parallelrelationship and a bottom wall connecting said side walls at theirbottom and an end Wall disposed in angular relationship to the bottomwall and connecting the side walls at one end, and with one of said sidewalls formed with an outwardly offset portion affording a bolt housing.

6. A latch for mounting on an automobile Window, comprising a bodymember having side walls spaced in approximately parallel relationshipto receive a portion of the window between them, said side walls beingconnected at the bottom by a bottom wall adapted to extend across amargin of the window, said side walls being connected also at one end byan end wall adapted to extend across an adjacent margin of the window, abolt movably mounted on one of the side walls so as to occupy a positionlaterally of the window and shiftable to and from a position wherein aportion of it is projected beyond the end wall, and a manuallyengageable member operable to shift the bolt and secure it againstshifting relative to the body member.

WENDELL PEASE.

